Bottle-corking machine.



No. 803,329. PATENTED OCT. 31, 1905.

J. B. DAVIS,

BOTTLE GORKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1905.

Application filed November 8, 1904.. Serial No. 281,891.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that L'JAMns BRISTOL DAVIS, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Gainesville, in the county of Alachua and State ofFlorida, have invented a new and Improved Bottle-Corking Machine, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a machine especially adaptedfor forcing what is known as spring-stoppers into bottles and to soconstruct the machine that it will be simple, comprising but few parts,effective in operation, and capable of being quickly and readilyoperated.

Another purpose of the invention is to so construct the improved machinethat it will include a pedal-controlled adjustable plunger 7 and atubular tension-controlled guide member adapted for directing thestopper to the mouth of a bottle, and a plunger which 0perates upon thesaid stopper in the said guide member.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference inclicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete machine, parts being insection. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the guide memberfor the stopper, its support, and a portion of the plunger and islikewise a vertical section through a portion of a bottle andillustrates a'stopper in position to be forced into the bottle. Fig. 3is an enlarged side elevation of the plunger, a part being in section,and a vertical section through the supporting-arm for the plunger. Fig.4 is a horizontal section taken practically on the line 4 4: of Fig. 1,being drawn on a larger scale. Fig. 5 is a similar section takensubstantially on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1 and also drawn on a largerscale, and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the treadle employed.

A represents a standard, which is usually in the form of a column and ismade hollow in'the interest of lightness. The said standard at its lowerend is secured in any suitable or approved manner to a base 10. A tableB is screwed upon the upper end of the standard A and is held in placeusually by means of a lock-nut 11, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 4:,

and this table is provided with a rearwardlyextending section 12 and aforwardly-extending section 13, which forwardly-extending section 13, asis shown best in Fig. 2, is provided with an opening 14, adapted toreceive a tubular guide member C for a spring-stopper. The form ofstopper shown comprises a head X and a spring-open loop-shank X, theunbroken member whereof is provided with an outwardly-extending hump w,as is shown in Fig. 2. The tubular guide member C is provided at itsupper end with an outwardly-extending flange 15, which normally restsupon the upper face of the forward extension 13 of the table B, and thebore of the said guide member 0 is made tapering, as is shown at 16 inFig. 4, being of the least diameter at its lower end, and in what may betermed the inner side of the wall of the tapering bore 16 adownwardly-tapering groove 17 is made, which receives the open sideportion of the shank of the said stopper, as is shown in Fig. 2, andcauses the loop-shank X of the said stopper to gradually lengthen orelongate as the stopper is forced downward, the diameter of the head Xof the stopper being slightly less than the diameter at the lowerportion of the tapering bore 16. Diametrically opposite the taperinggroove 17 another and slighter groove 18 is produced in the wall of thesaid bore 16, adapted to receive the hump-section of the stopper-shank,as is also shown in Fig. 2. By this construction the shank of thestopper is held from turning, and the said shank is compressed before itenters the mouth of the bottle 20, adapted to receive it, and the groove18 prevents too much strain being sustained by the shank of the stopperin its passage down the guide member 0, especially at the bottom portionof said member. The said tubular guide member C is provided at its loweredge with an exteriorlylocated more or less concaved annular groove 19,so that the lower end of the said tubular guide member C may be snuglyfitted to the mouth of the bottle in which the stopper is to be placed.The tubular guide member 0 is capable of movement in the extension 13 ofthe table B, but is normally held with its upper flange 15 in engagementwith the said table extension or member by means of a spring 22, whichis coiled around the said guide member C, having bearing against theunder face of the said table extension 13 and bearing upon a collar 21,screwed upon the outer lower surface of the said guide.

The bottle when the stopper is to be forced therein is made to rest on aplatform 23, supported by a bracket 24, extending out from the front ofthe standard A at a point below the table B, and the said tubular guideC is capable of its tension-controlled movement in the table B in orderthat it can be accommodated to bottles varying in length.

A slot is produced in the rear extension 12 of the table B, as bestshown in Fig. 4, and below this rear extension 12 of the table B thehorizontal arm 27 of a bracket 26 is made to extend, the said horizontalarm being provided with a slot 28, which registers with the slot 25 inthe table extension 12, and the said bracket 26 is secured to the rearportion of the said standard A, as is best shown in, Fig. 1. Thebrackets 24 and 26 are attached to the standard by one or more clips 29or their equivalents, so that they can be adjusted to accommodate anylength of bottle for any style of stopper, as bottles in whichspring-stoppers are used vary from about five to fourteen inches.

A bar 30 is mounted to slide freely in the slot 25 of the tableextension 12 and the slot 28 of the bracket 26, and said bar is providedwith an arm 31 at its upper end extending forward over the table B. Thesaid arm 31 is provided with an enlargement at its forward end having athreaded aperture therein to receive the upper end of a plunger D and tohold the said plunger so that its body portion may have sliding movementin the bore 16 of the tubular guide member C.

The bar 30 is pivoted to a connecting-rod 32, and the said rod 32 ispassed through an opening 32 in a treadle 33 and is suitably pivoted tothe under face of the treadle near its rear end, said treadle beingprovided with a central opening 35 of sufficient dimensions to looselyreceive the standard A. The said treadle is suitably pivoted near itsforward end on a post 34, carried by the forward portion of the base 10.

The plunger D consists of an exteriorlythreaded shank-section 36 and abody-section 37 at the lower end of the said shank, the saidbody-section 37 being of such diameter that it will have free movementin the bore 16 of the tubular guide member 0, and the body 37 isprovided with a concavity 38 in its bottom face, so that the bottom ofthe plunger may accommodate itself to the curvature at the upper end ofthe shank of the stopper, as is shown in Fig. 2. The shank 36 of theplunger D is screwed into the threaded aperture at the outer end of thesupporting-arm 31 and is held in adjusted position by a nut 36, carriedby the shank and having bearing against the under face of the saidsupportingarm, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The extent to which thebody of the plunger shall enter the tubular member C is controlled bylocating on the shank of the plunger above the body or head 37 two nuts39 and 40, one above the other.

A seat-support in the form of an outwardly and upwardly curved springbar 41 is attached by clips 42 or their equivalents to the lower portionof the standard A at its forward side, and the seat 43 at its upper endis upwardly and rearwardly curved and its lower end is downwardly andforwardly curved, and at the latter end of the seat 43 a slot is madethrough which the supporting-rod 41 loosely passes. The said rod 41likewise passes through a socket 44 at the bottom portion of the seat,and the seat is held adjusted on said supporting-rod 41 by means of asetscrew 45 or its equivalent.

In operation the bottle is placed in position under the tubular guidemember C, the mouth of the bottle being in engagement with the lower endof the said guide member, as is shown in Fig. 2. The stopper is thenplaced in the bore of the guide member and the plunger D is forceddownward, thus forcing the head of the stopper into the mouth of thebottle and to a point below the neck of the same, and at the same timethe spring-shank of the stopper is laterally compressed and is made toenter the neck of the bottle in such condition so that the said shank ofthe stopper will have sufficient bearing against the wall of the neck ofthe bottle to hold the head of the stopper in closing position where theneck and the body of the bottle connect.

It will be understood that the machine will place any form of stopper ina bottle whether the stopper be a spring-stopper or a cork.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a bottle-corking machine, a tubular guide memberhaving oppositely-arranged grooves in its bore, said grooves extendingthroughout the length of the bore and adapted to receive and guide themembers of the loop shank of a spring-stopper, one of the groovesgradually decreasing in depth from its upper to its lower end, wherebythe loop-shank will be elongated as the stopper is forced down throughthe guide member, and a plunger mounted to operate in the said guidemember.

2. In a bottle-corking machine, a support, a tubular guide having atapering bore mounted for movement on the said support, the said tubularguide being provided with opposing grooves in the wall of its bore, oneof said grooves being tapering, an offsetfrom the exterior of the saidtubular guide, aspring having bearing against the said offset andagainst the said support, and a plunger held to operate in the bore ofthe said guide memher.

3. In a bottle-corking machine, a support, a tubular guide for thestopper mounted in the support, said guide having a tapering lower endto permit it to enter the mouth of a bottle and provided at its upperend with a flange and a short distance from its lower end with a collar,a spring surrounding the guide between the support and collar, a membermovable to and from the guide, and a plunger adjustably mounted in thesaid member and adapted to enter said guide.

4. In a bottle-corking machine, a springcontrolled tubular guide havingguide-grooves in opposing walls of its bore, an arm above the tubularguide and capable of movement to and from the receiving end of the saidtubular guide, means for operating the said arm, a plunger adjustablycarried by the arm, which plunger is adapted to enter the said guidemember, and means on the plunger forlimiting the extent of movement ofthe same in the guide member.

5. In a bottle-corking machine, a standard, a support on the upper endof the standard, a tapering open-ended guide yieldingly held in thesupport and having a longitudinal groove in its inner face, a relativelystationary platform below the support, a bar having sliding movement onthe standard and provided with an arm at its upper end, said armextending over the support of the standard, a plunger secured to the armof the bar, a treadle, and rod connecting the treadle with the slidingbar.

6. In a bottle-corking machine, a standard,

a table on the upper end of'the standard and projecting on oppositesides of the same, the projecting portions of the table being apertured,a tubular guide for a stopper held in anaperture of the table, anapertured arm on the standard, a bar sliding in the apertures of the armand table and provided with an arm at its upper end, a plunger securedto the arm of the bar, a treadle, and a rod connecting the treadle withthe bar.

7. A bottle-corking machine, comprising a standard, a table at the upperend of the standard, a tubular open-ended guide yieldingly mounted inthe table, a platform carried by the standard below the table, a barhaving sliding movement on the standard and in the table and having atits upper end an arm projecting over the table, a plunger mounted in thearm of the bar, a treadle pivoted at one side of the standard andprovided with a central aperture through which passes the said standard,and a connection between the treadle and the sliding bar.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES BRISTOL DAVIS.

Witnesses:

J. B. BROOKS, S. H. WIENGEs.

